New Platy tank! Advice appreciated!

[Lollipops]

I've been uncertain of what to do with my two 10 gallon tanks for a while now. Well one of them just became home to 3 platys! Two large wag platies… and one small sunburst.

I hope I can keep them happy, because I've only ever done goldfish care…

Sand substrate. Heater keeps the temp around 70F. Java moss, and lots of elodea for them to hide in.

FEEDING:
Could use some advice on fish food…
Right now they're eating Seachem's Shrimp Flakes, and they have java moss and elodea in the tank… though I can't imagine their tiny mouths eating the plants…
Do I need to crush up the flakes? Some of them are quite large, and I see they can't always seems to eat them. Though its cute to see them try to rip at them.

I bought Fluval's tropical sinking pellet food (because it's what I feed my goldie). That's when I realized how TINY TINY their little mouths are… Medium pellets are NOT edible for them. Can I just crush the pellets? Will they even eat pellets? They seem to ignore them... maybe just because their used to flakes...?

STOCKING:
The two larger wag platys came from a local fish owner who was downsizing. They lived together in the same tank. Well I've always been enamored with the sunburst platy so I got ONE, seeing as I'm afraid of overstocking.

Turns out….. He's QUITE a bit smaller than the other two… I've been hyper vigilant, watching to make sure he's not being hurt by the others… He's too big for either of them to eat, to be sure.

One of the bigger platys seems to be a biiiit of a bully towards both of his tank mates? Maybe? But everyone seems safe.

According to AqAdvisor I could still put in 1 or 2 more platys without being over stocked… Though I wonder if 5 would be a little cramped? I'd love for the small sunburst to have similarly-sized friends…

Thoughts on stocking?

Thanks!

 

[Lollipops]

Oh geez, ADVICE* appreciated. *eyeroll* how come you never notice these things until the moment after posting?

 

[DreaminginBlue]

Congratulations on your new platys! They're really quite beautiful fish.
As for feeding them, you can always try crushing the pellets or just purchasing smaller ones if it's less trouble. My platy was used to pellets from the store but quickly adapted to mostly frozen food with some flakes and pellets, so I'm sure they'll adjust to whatever you feed them.
Do you know what genders your platys are? The "bullying" could either be a male expressing dominance or a male chasing females.
It's always best to have a ratio of at least two females to every male to minimize stress on the females.
With regards to adding more platys, I wouldn't. As they're livebearers, if you have a male and a female (or even a female who has been around males before and has stored sperm) you'll have dozens of babies.
You have to figure out how you'll deal with babies if that's the case. You can save them and move them to your other ten gallon tank as a nursery and then sell or give them away when they're large enough. Alternatively you can leave them in with their parents (if stocking levels permit) with the knowledge that most will be eaten by their parents unless there is dense plant cover.
One of the reasons some people don't recommend platys for tanks smaller than 20-30 gallons is due to the aforementioned baby explosion that is inevitable if you have females. However, if you either move the babies to a separate tank or are just very diligent with water changes, you should be fine.
Best of luck!

 

[Lollipops]

Ooooh thanks for the heads up... I better read up on how to sex them...

The two platys I inherited must be either both male or both female, since the owner had them so long with no babies... But my new little one, well, who knows...

Aw man, soon as the sun comes up more I'm gonna start trying to figure them out!!!!

I actually have a vacant 10 gall at the moment, so honestly, if I ended up with babies, I think I'd really love it I could work on re-homing babies!

 

[Lollipops]

Is it possible for their foot to be TOO small? I dont mind crushing their food. I did it once already, but some of it is bound to get "dusty"...

 

[DreaminginBlue]

To sex them, just look at their anal fin. Males have a modified version called a gonopodium, which is curled up tightly, as opposed to a female's anal fin, which is fanned out. I'll attach a photo to help you out.
With crushing their food, I think it is possible it could make a dusty mess of particles way too small for them. It might be easier to buy pellets portioned for them, or otherwise find a way to separate the larger crushed pieces from the "dust".
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/4b/28/44/4b28442f9e0ac5035fe8768273b63c5f.jpg

 

[Lollipops]

Well, now I know! Looks like I have a tank full of females!

oh man, I better be careful if I add another... hmmmm.

 

[mimiheart]

For all females, they'll still have a pecking order. My platies and swordtails love to nibble on seaweed -- they like the green over the other colors. For that few you don't need a whole sheet, just a small strip. You can clip it in or be lazy and just toss it in. They also love frozen bloodworms as a treat. Platies will peck at stuff growing on plants, but they tend not to harm plants from what I've seen.

It's also possible that the females are pregnant. Just a heads up. Wait a few months before deciding to add any more. With the sand substrate, you may want to consider some cories--pygmy cories would be adorable in a ten gallon.

 

[DreaminginBlue]

You can always ask the employee at a pet store for a male or female platy, but I find half the time they don't know and just net a random fish.
Often it's best to scout them out yourself, find the female or male you'd like and then show the employee which one you'd like.
If you get them from a more trusted source or hobbyist, I'm sure they can help you get a male or female if you ask. I'd still double check just to be sure, however.
If you did get a male, the three females would spread his attention adequately so that each female would not be overly stressed by his constant advances.
However, if you have three females, and each female can have 10-35 babies, you might easily be overrun with fry. Though not all fry survive, platys reproduce frequently and have good sized batches of fry, posing problems if you don't have a good way to get them to new homes.
This can be tricky, as pet stores usually won't take platys even if you offer them for free. You could try selling them on Craigslist or a similar classifieds site, but you might not have steady interest/buyers. Many people who keep livebearers are faced with this problem, but if you have a plan on rehoming them, then it's likely not going to pose a problem.
If you're up for raising and rehoming fry, a male would be the way to go. If not, get a female. She may or may not be holding sperm, meaning she might have a few batches of fry, but it wouldn't be as frequently as if she were still being housed with a male.

 

[DreaminginBlue]

Just saw mimiheart's post, it hadn't loaded while I typed my reply. I second what she said, especially about the Pygmy Corydoras! They're very cute.

 

[Fishyboi]

Congratulations on your platys! Hope they do well!
The fish food I got for my swordtails was very big for them so I crushed them...plenty of that 'dust' XD
I just pinch out the medium sized particles and feed them

 

[idol1]

I breed live bearing fish, Mollies, guppy, endlers, swordtails, and platys.

The best all around food I have found is Ocean Nutrition Formula Two Flakes.

Platys are more plant eaters. This food has both the plant and protein

Best food I have tried for my fish.

 

[mimiheart]

I breed live bearing fish, Mollies, guppy, endlers, swordtails, and platys.

The best all around food I have found is Ocean Nutrition Formula Two Flakes.

Platys are more plant eaters. This food has both the plant and protein

Best food I have tried for my fish.

I have never even seen this food. Just looked it up. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Lollipops]

<3 <3 <3 I've never had a cory cat cause my goldie has always been a solo fish... it's exciting that I can finally branch out and get others fish now!!!

I was curious about shrimp.... Just something simple like crystal shrimp, but I don't know what fish will try to eat them... Surely the platys wont...?

I'm gonna get some frozen and freeze dried foods! I'm looking forward to being able to give treats <3

 

[Lollipops]

OMG CUTENESS *watching pygmy cory videos*

 

[DreaminginBlue]

The platys very likely could see shrimp as a snack. The Pygmy cories are less of a worry, though they may suck up a shrimplet or two. The only truly shrimp safe fish is the oto.
However, if you have lots of hiding spots and a good sized population, they might be able to reproduce enough to cover any losses. I have red cherry shrimp in with my panda cories, and though I'm sure they eat some of the babies (intentionally or accidentally, I have no idea) a handful always end up making it to adulthood. I started with eight and counted more than that a few weeks later.
So shrimp are doable, just be aware they can be eaten by your fish and they can be very fragile. Crystals are some of the harder shrimp to care for due to their water requirements, and I belive they fetch a pretty price... Maybe it would be a better idea to start with some neocaridina instead. They are hardier usually, and types like red cherry shrimp aren't as expensive. I've seen people selling them on Craigslist for $1 each.
But shrimp are pretty cool.
And Pygmy cories are too cute for their own good.

 

[Barliman]

I've been uncertain of what to do with my two 10 gallon tanks for a while now. Well one of them just became home to 3 platys! Two large wag platies… and one small sunburst.

Welcome to Platy Ranching! You will soon have many, many (and many) more.

Sand substrate. Heater keeps the temp around 70F. Java moss, and lots of elodea for them to hide in.

Platys love plants, partly because they like to graze on algae. (They're not great "algae eaters," but they do help some.

They should be fine at 70, though I think that's a little on the cool side. 76 is ideal, I think. Mine are experiencing 78-80 and doing just fine.

FEEDING:
Could use some advice on fish food…

Do I need to crush up the flakes? Some of them are quite large, and I see they can't always seems to eat them. Though its cute to see them try to rip at them.

I crush the flakes some, but they'll also pick at larger flakes, breaking off bits. By the same token, they'll take in and spit out pellets that are too large, softening them up.

I use Omega One brand flakes and pellets for my fish (platys, tetras), and they love them all. I think it's a good, high-quality food.

They also need variety, too, so I give them frozen foods, such as brine shrimp, blood worms, and daphnia. I buy the Hikari and San Francisco Bay brand foods.

You don't have to do that much, but some frozen brine shrimp once or twice a week will do your fish a lot of good. (I've also heard good things about Fluval's Bug Bites, but haven't tried it.)

STOCKING:

One of the bigger platys seems to be a biiiit of a bully towards both of his tank mates? Maybe? But everyone seems safe.

Platys are pretty placid. I've seen some chasing, but it's mild. As long as the little one can run and hide when he needs to, you should be fine.

According to AqAdvisor I could still put in 1 or 2 more platys without being over stocked… Though I wonder if 5 would be a little cramped? I'd love for the small sunburst to have similarly-sized friends…

Thoughts on stocking?

Thanks!

I have a second tank running for the fry from the first tank, which I'm growing to a size at which I can take them to my LFS. There are ten platys in there, all at least one inch. Now, it is serviced by an AC20 and a large(-ish) sponge filter, I do a daily 20% water change, and there are floating plants in it, which all help, but the water conditions are perfect. Assuming you keep up with your water changes, I should think you could add two more, and then two more in a few weeks with no problem.

One thing to bear in mind: platys, if kept well-fed and healthy, will reward you with fry. Not quite at the rate of guppies, but they are little sex machines. As an example, I started last year with five: one male, four females. I now have ~15 in the main tank, 10 in the grow out tank, and I've taken roughly 20-25 to the pet store over the last few months. To be honest, much as I love platys, I plan to catch them all gradually and re-home them to get out of the platy-ranching business.

I'd like to keep something besides platys, y'know?

 

[Jorge]

I have just gotten a guppy yesterday. And I already had two platys and they were fine until the guppy came they now crowd together in the bottom corner of the tank and it seems so strange because they never do that. Can someone help Me?




Thanks!